Positive-selection-inducing self-peptides displayed by cortical thymic epithelial cells.

A repertoire of antigen recognition specificities in mature T cell pool is formed by the selection during T cell development in the thymus. Positive selection is an essential process for the development of functionally competent T cells and is dependent on the interaction between T cell antigen receptors (TCRs) that newly generated thymocytes express and self-peptide-associated major histocompatibility complex (pMHC) molecules that cortical thymic epithelial cells (cTECs) express. Characterization of positive-selection-inducing peptides has revealed that the low-affinity TCR engagement by the positive-selection-inducing pMHC complexes initiates intracellular signals that induce the survival of immature thymocytes and their differentiation into mature T cells. Recent studies suggest unique mechanisms of antigen processing in cTECs for the production of positively selecting MHC-bound self-peptides.